MSJC's First Day of Fall 2011 Semester

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John Smith rode the bus to get to Mt. San Jacinto College on Aug. 15 for the first day of the Fall semester.

Smith was pleased to be able to ride the Riverside Transit Agency buses for a $6 per semester fee. This is the first semester since MSJC students voted in April to approve the Go Pass program, which allows MSJC students unlimited rides on RTA buses for the next five years.

“It allows students who don’t have a car to get here and it’s only six bucks, so it’s really affordable,” Smith said.

Smith was one of the 14,700 students to attend MSJC on the first day of the 2011-12 academic year. Ninety-three percent of seats were full district wide. Ninety-five percent of the seats were full on the Temecula Educational Complex; 92 percent of the seats were full on the San Jacinto and Menifee Valley campuses; and 94 percent full in the San Gorgonio Pass area.

Devon Holmes and his girlfriend Jessica Lopez both 18, sat under the shade canopy in the quad to chat and wait for their first class.

“I’ve had classes here before,” Holmes, who wants to pursue a music career, said. “I like the college. It’s a good environment and good people.”

Jessica said she was glad to attend MSJC. She said tuition at the out-of-state university she had planned to attend went up drastically. Attending MSJC will save her money and is close to home, she said.

Jessica Lopez and Devon Holmes enjoy the shade on the San Jacinto Campus while waiting for their first classes for the fall 2011 semester.

Mt. San Jacinto College’s Menifee Valley Campus is bustling with students on the first day of the Fall 2011 semester. Photo by Terri Orchard.